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jeranasblog · 4 years

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You can talk to me about anything

Summary: Peter asks Tony to fulfill one of his fantasies.

Rating: E

Notes: This story is my 10th @starkercestevent contribution. Kink for the 10th story: Role Play. Click here for the Bingo Masterlist.

Warnings: Adoptive Father/Adoptive Son, don’t like it, don’t read it

Read on Ao3

Peter was thinking about it for months, even before he had done anything with his Daddy.

Everything started when Tony was on a business trip in Europe, presenting the latest tech of Stark Industries and the house was empty for the entire weekend. Peter, who had still been pinning for his Daddy back then, looked forward to having the apartment all for himself, not to throw a party but to get off without being afraid to cry his Daddy’s name out loud for once. He tended to become so riled up close to his climax, that he frequently had to muffle the begging for his Daddy in a pillow and he was afraid his Daddy would find out one day.

So Peter hardly imagine anything better than jerking off in peace, maybe even using his favorite vibrator that was too loud to switch on when his Daddy was home. He opened the porn site he always visited, one hand already shoved into his boxers, looking for the ‘Daddy porn’ section he was familiar with by now.

The first video was short, about ten minutes long and only helped to bring him to orgasm once. His arousal had built up over months. Months of hidden jerk off sessions and quick fingering when his Daddy was still at work, therefore Peter decided to drag it out this day, coming at least twice in the evening.

His mind already foggy with pleasure, Peter didn’t read the headlines anymore and suddenly, he found himself watching roleplay porn the entire evening. Car drivers getting fucked by bulky police officers, little twinks bouncing on their teacher’s lap, and patients taking everything up their ass for their doctors. Ashamed, Peter started to realize that he not only wanted to get fucked by his adoptive father, no, he also wanted to pretend to be someone else sometimes.

The thought never let go of him, not even when his secret was finally disclosed by his Daddy. In all these months, his mind had traveled back, and since Tony and he stayed home a lot because of Pierce anyway, Peter gave it a shot. He used all his courage and decided to confront his Daddy with his request on a Sunday morning.

“Daddy?” He was nervous, fumbling with the sleeves of his oversized sweater and unconsciously biting his lips. Usually, his Daddy initiated new things in the bedroom, Peter had never come up with an idea before, but he was finally feeling secure in their relationship. Tony wouldn’t leave him, he would protect and cherish him, even if he wouldn’t like his idea.

The Alpha was sitting on the couch in the living room, skimming through the economy section of the newspaper. He wore his reading glasses and comfy pants, but he was still radiating confidence. When Peter entered the room, he raised his head, looking at him expectantly and waiting for the Omega to speak.

Peter couldn’t look him in the eyes, his gaze fixed on the floor. In his head, approaching the Alpha had been easy, but as soon as he really had to talk about his fantasy, the courage was leaving him. Tony seemed to sense his struggle.

“Baby, come here,” he put the newspaper aside and gestured the Omega to take a seat on his lap. Without a doubt, Peter followed the command and snuggled close to the Alpha’s chest. His scent was calming, lulling Peter in a feeling of being home and before he could change his opinion, he blurted out his thoughts.

“Iwannatalkaboutafantasy.”

After his words, he hid his face against his Daddy’s chest. He was blushing furiously, but at the same time he was relieved he got the sentence out at all. Tony stroked his back and pressed soft kisses on his forehead.

“Don’t be afraid, baby. You can talk with me about anything you wanna try. The worst that could happen is me telling you I don’t like it, but I promise, I won’t laugh, and I won’t judge you for it. Just give it a try.”

Peter closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, and gathered all his courage together. “I want you to fuck me as someone else.”

After the conversation with his Daddy, a few days passed. Tony had been willing to try, had even loved the ideas Peter had. He had been proud of him to talk about his fantasies, to ask for things he wanted, especially because Peter was usually pretty shy. However, the Alpha hadn’t made any attempts to initiate roleplay between them, so after a few days, the thoughts faded into the back of his mind.

Peter was busy anyway, working on a project for one of his classes. He was supposed to build a robot and it should have been easy, but he had made one mistake in his programing code and wasn’t able to find it. Over hours and hours, frustration was building inside of him until he finally gave up and asked his Daddy for help.

“How can I help you, Peter?” Although his Daddy rarely called him ‘Peter’, he didn’t suspect anything yet, too frustrated from not finding the mistake.

“I just can’t find the fucking mistake,” he ran his fingers through his hair until he looked wrecked, his lips swollen from how often he had bitten on them. This shit was driving him crazy and he definitely needed a break.

Tony, however, didn’t react like Peter expected him to. “Language.”

The Omega couldn’t stop himself from looking up stunned. Usually, his Daddy didn’t mind him cursing, even encouraged him from letting his feelings out, but today he scolded him for his language? However, one gaze at his Daddy’s face was enough for him to understand what was going on.

He knew his Alpha so well by now he could read every single sign of arousal and seeing his dilated pupils and his hungry gaze made it obvious for him where they were heading. In an instant, his mood changed from frustrated to playful.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Stark,” he lowered his gaze bashfully. “I forgot my manners for a second.”

“It’s all right, Peter,” Tony’s chuckle was dark, promising the things he would do to him and Peter trembled under his voice. Anticipation was filling him, lightening every cell of his body and making him squirm in delight. “Now tell me what the problem is.”

“Every time I turn on the robot, the program crashes after a few seconds. There must be an error in the code, but I can’t seem to find it.” He tried his best to sound innocent and he looked pleadingly at Tony with wide eyes.

His Daddy’s gaze turned predatory, and he smirked as he leaned forward. One hand was propped on the back of Peter’s chair while the other one was resting on his thigh, a little too high to be considered appropriate. Tony pretended to look on the screen of the computer, his face close to Peter’s neck and he could feel his Daddy’s breath grazing his skin.

Peter wanted to throw his head back, wanted to offer it to his Daddy. Tension was building between them and slowly the Omega felt himself getting wet. The scent of his arousal must have filled the room by now, but his Daddy didn’t react besides a subtle stumble in his breath. Peter was fighting against himself, fighting to remain in his role. He wanted this, he wanted to try it out, so there was no way he would ruin this with his neediness.

“M-Mr. Stark, t-that’s inappropriate,” his voice was trembling, not from outrage but arousal.

“I’m sorry, Peter. I didn’t pay attention.” Tony sounded truly apologetic, but he didn’t take away his hand. Instead, he started to draw circles on Peter’s thigh, his hand wandering higher and higher until he was almost touching his cock. Peter couldn’t stop the moan that slipped past his lips. Acting horrified, he slapped his hand over his mouth, even though it had been too late anyway. Tony’s smirked made it crystal clear that he had heard his noise.

“I need some time to find the mistake, Peter,” his Daddy said smugly. “Scoot over, let me have a closer look at the screen.”

Peter obeyed hurryingly, standing up to offer him the chair, but before he could even take a step aside, the Alpha had sat down and pulled him onto his lap, back to chest. He could feel the huge bulk pressed against his ass, could feel that the drenched fabric of his pants was rubbing all over Tony’s crotch. For a second, his eyes fluttered close in arousal, his hips moving once and twice, creating delicious friction against his covered hole before he caught himself and reminded him what this was about.

“M-Mr. Stark, you can’t just…, it’s not proper, I…”

“Shh.” This time, Tony’s voice wasn’t teasing anymore but filled with Alpha command. “Be quiet, Peter and stop wiggling, I can’t find the mistake when you act like a needy bitch. Better be glad if I still give you a good grade, even though you need my help with your project.”

Humiliation was crashing through his body, making his insides tingle with pleasure. Slick was gushing out of him in waves, clouding the air with the sweet scent and he had to fight every urge inside of him to stop himself from moving. Just the imagination that Tony was his professor, using his authority to force the Omega onto his lap, was enough for him to see stars.

Tony continued staring at the screen, searching for the mistake in Peter’s code. His focus wasn’t on Peter and the thought made him even hotter. Slowly, his thighs started to tremble under the strain of staying still and when Tony’s finger found one of his nipples, he moaned like a whore for the first time.

Suddenly, the focus of the Alpha was back on him again. “Peter, you should be ashamed of yourself,” the disappointed felt almost real. “I try to help you and you act like a needy bitch, getting your slick all over me. At least get off your pants, they are drenched and filthy.”

The words were the last straw and he started to move his hips again. Being accused of acting slutty, even though his Daddy had pulled him onto his lap, was enough to make his hole clench, to make him shiver with arousal. He knew he was easy for the Alpha, and if his Daddy had been his professor, he probably wouldn’t have been able to stay away from him as well, the attraction between them too intense.

A loud smack on his ass made him jump, the slight pain mixing with his arousal. “I said take off your pants. Do I have to repeat myself? Don’t you want a good grade anymore?”

Oh, god. Peter moaned and scrambled off his Daddy’s lap, pulling down his trousers and his panties until he could finally feel the air against his dripping hole. Everything was turning him on, and before he could think twice, he was back on Tony’s lap, rubbing himself all over the Alpha’s trousers.

Tony growled in pretended anger. “What do you think you're doing here? Isn’t it already enough that you are a needy mess, now you ruin my pants as well?” He received a second smack on his naked ass and his eyes rolled back from the delicious pain.

“I’m so so sorry, Mr. Stark.” Peter looked at him with watering eyes, his lower lip trapped between his teeth. “I didn’t want it, I swear. Please don’t let me fail this class.”

The words coaxed the first purr of the evening out of his Daddy. “I forgive you, one last time, but only if you’re good for me. Come on, get me out of my ruined pants, show me how sorry you are.” Eagerly, Peter dashed forward, opening his pants and pulling them down with his boxers. His Daddy’s thick cock was finally free, leaking furiously and Peter wanted nothing more than to choke on it.

“Make yourself useful, boy.” Tony gestured him to sit between his spread legs, his cock twitching in anticipation of the wet heat of Peter’s mouth, but the Omega lowered his gaze ashamed.

“M-Mr. Stark, I can’t. It’s inappropriate.”

The words made the Alpha growl furiously and he grabbed Peter’s neck, forcing him to his knees and pressed his cock into his mouth without giving him time to get used to it. “Slowly, I start to think you don’t want to pass this class,” he growled while Peter was gagging around his thick cock. “I asked you to make yourself useful and I don’t want to repeat myself.”

With a high-pitched whimper, Peter started to work, bobbing his head up and down and savoring his Daddy on his tongue. He trailed patterns all over the hard shaft, sucking every drop of precome up like it was water in the desert. He hummed around it, forcing himself to take more of his Daddy, to take him deeper and there was no way in hell he could pretend he didn’t like doing this.

“Look at you, little slut,” Tony’s voice was hoarse. “Acting like a prude although you want nothing more than getting stuffed by your professor. Are you that eager for me? Whoring yourself out to get a good grade?”

Peter pinched his eyes shut, counting in his head from one to ten. He was so close, way too close given that nothing had touched his hole or his cock, not even his own hands. He had never been so turned on before, wanting to sit between Tony’s spread legs forever.

Time lost its meaning with his Daddy’s cock inside of his mouth, it blurred together, left him feeling floaty and content. Everything that mattered was his Daddy, his taste, his scent, his everything, and Peter lost himself in the feeling of his Daddy on his tongue. He felt so filthy, so humiliated, and the shame was fueling the fire inside of him.

When Tony eventually pulled back his head, Peter whined in distress. “Don’t act up, you little slut. Sit on my cock while I show you the mistake you made.”

“Yes Mr. Stark,” his voice was raspy, his throat sore from his Daddy’s thick length, but it didn’t matter to him, made him feel like a good boy instead. His legs wobbled when he got up and the Alpha didn’t help him but watched him struggle for balance. Finally, he seated himself on his Daddy’s lap, Tony’s tip nudging against his hole.

“You forgot one character. Do you see it?” The Alpha was pointing at the screen, showing him the mistake Peter had made, but the Omega was too far gone to even focus on his code. Everything he could concentrate on was the leaking cock against his hole, spurting precome all over his thighs while new slick was making him messy.

He knew it was a mistake, new it didn’t suit the role he played, but he pushed his hips back, impaling himself on his Daddy in one stroke. They moaned in unison. The fit was tight, tighter than usual. Peter rarely took his Daddy’s cock without prep outside his heat, and it was burning, hurting even, but he loved it still. He would be sore tomorrow, maybe not even able to sit and the thought made his insides clench in arousal, gripping his Daddy’s cock even tighter.

“God, you are a slut,” Tony tried to sound mean, humiliating, but Peter could still hear a hint of affection laying underneath. “Look at you, I’m not even asking you, but you still fuck yourself on me as if you would die without a proper cock inside of you. Think you might pass if you just act slutty enough?”

Peter could only moan in return. He was so thankful, thankful for his Daddy’s love, for his cock, and especially thankful that he did this for him. His Daddy length was filling him deliciously, pressing against all the right spots, and assaulting his prostate. Nothing would ever feel as good as sitting on the Alpha’s cock.

“Let’s make a deal, Peter. When you make me come without coming yourself before, I let you pass. Let me see how badly you want it, show me how important it is to you.”

Peter didn’t need to be told twice. He started to move his hips, dragging himself up and down, bouncing on his Daddy’s cock. His own cock was leaking precome as well, still untouched and it swayed with every thrust on his hips. Suddenly, he was overwhelmed with the urge to touch himself, to come on his Daddy’s cock, but once he would touch his erection, he wouldn’t be able to hold back. So he kept his hands to himself, clenched them to fists, and tried his best not to move them.

“So tight on my cock, like a virgin. Tell me, boy. Am I the first one fucking your slutty hole? Would you do anything for a good grade?”

“Yes, Mr. Stark.” Peter’s answer was a breathless cry, his entire body straining from his movements. He lost himself in the fantasy, eagerly bouncing on Tony’s cock to improve his grade. He could feel every bump in his Daddy’s cock, every inch splitting him open and he knew he was close. If he didn’t up the game now, he would come before his Daddy.

“Mr. Stark,” his voice was wrecked from arousal. “Please, let me pass, please, I’ll do anything, I swear.”

He got a roar in return. “Aren’t you already doing everything, slut? You are already bouncing on my cock, already crying for me to fill you. What could you still offer to convince me?”

The question was an easy one but stuffed to the brim, Peter found it hard to think. His legs were trembling, slick leaking out of him and the room was filled with little gasps and whimpers. He propped his arms on the table, the computer screen in front of him long forgotten, moving his hips desperately while he did his best to think about a good answer.

“I’ll come to your office twice a week after classes. Let you stuff me full again and again. I won’t tell anyone, just please let me pass, please fuck me, Mr. Stark.”

Although the pleasure was taking a toll on him as well, Tony pretended to ponder, his eyes fixed on Peter in hunger. He watched his cock disappearing again and again in Peter’s hole, glistening from his slick that was spread everywhere.

“All right, boy,” he finally gave in, his hips thrusting up and meeting Peter halfway. “We have a deal. You let me fuck you twice a week and I let a dumb slut pass the class.”

The words were too much, Peter felt could feel how his walls started to clench rhythmically, trying to milk his Daddy. He was sweating, his entire body shivering in arousal and there was no chance to hold back much longer. Before he would completely lose himself, Peter tried for the last time.

“I’ll be your slut, your slave, I promise. I’ll do anything you want. You can mark me, you can breed me, you can show everyone how easy I am for you, how pathetic. Please, come for me Mr. Stark. Fill me up.” The words seemed to hit just right. The moment he felt the heat exploding inside of him, Tony started coming as well, his tip pressed snugly against his prostate.

Come after come was filling him, stuffing and marking him, while Peter was falling apart. The movement of his hips stopped, he couldn’t lift his body anymore but thankfully Tony was grinding into him, working his knot into Peter’s body. The orgasm was taking him apart in waves and it didn’t stop, the assault of his prostate making it impossible for him to come down.

In contrast to Alpha’s bodies, Omegas weren’t made to come for minutes, but his Daddy was milking spurt after spurt from his cock anyway. The sensations didn’t stop, wrecking him and grabbing him tightly, until his vision started to blur and his body couldn’t do more than twitch weakly.

He didn’t pass out this time, trapped on the Alpha’s cock, and pressed against his chest, but he was close. He didn’t want to surrender to the sweet darkness, wanted to tell his Daddy how thankful he was, how good the Alpha had been for him.

The knot was catching on his rim, plugging him up with a huge load of come and his own slick. Peter slumped against his Daddy, his entire body going limp from overstimulation and a dopily grin spread on his face when he felt that Tony still hasn’t stopped coming.

“Thank you, Daddy. You were amazing.”

The Alpha purred, content to knot his Omega and he pressed kisses against Peter’s temple. “You were amazing as well, baby. So good for me. I love that you told me what you like, I love that you’re getting comfortable around me.”

Peter smiled sweetly, turned his head, and pressed his lips lightly against the Alpha’s. The kiss was chaste, sweet, a reminder of how much they meant to each other.

“I love you, Daddy.” He earned another kiss and snuggled closer against Tony’s chest.

“I love you, too, baby.” Everything was perfect. “By the way, I actually found the mistake.” Peter started to laugh.

#starker #starkercestbingo2020

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missmonsters2 · 5 years

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Drive Her Crazy || Part X

PAIRING: Wanda Maximoff x OFC/Reader

Summary: AU. Meet Wanda, the new ‘It’ girl. She’s built her social standing as a social influencer through Instagram and vlogging on Youtube. Queen Bee in her social circle, she’s got everyone wrapped around her finger. She’s perfect, you think. Girls like that require a little finesse, and you’re ready to play the game.

Warnings: Non-healthy relationship, psychological games, smut. 18+ only.

NOTE: Wow, I can’t believe we are finished. Thank you to everyone who read this story, enjoyed it, liked it, reblogged it, or commented! My heart is super full. This is the happiest ending for our lovely crazies 💛

[Please watch out for my next series which will feature Natasha Romanoff x Fem!Reader, The Color of You 😊]

PART I || PART II || PART III || PART IV || PART V || PART VI || PART VII || PART VIII || PART IX

PART X of X

Count: 5231

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“Great work, Vision! You’re good for today.”

Vision sighed, pulling off his headphones, and walking out the recording studio.

He thanked everyone for their hard work on his way out.

The single he recently released was doing quite well, and he was quickly gaining a fanbase.

His breakup with Wanda had actually inspired some pretty good lyrics, and with some help to finesse the finished product, the single was becoming a hit.

Vision hadn’t spoken Wanda since they split up at the party, but it’s not like he could avoid the headlines Wanda and her new girlfriend made. It was everywhere because you were so famous.

He still often spoke to Tony who updated him with what everyone’s been up to and Pepper was kind enough to give him advice from time to time.

Digging his hand into his pocket, he felt his ring there. He couldn’t bear to get rid of the engagement ring he got Wanda yet. It felt like it was the only thing left of her he had.

As he walked out of recording studio, the exit he usually took was blocked off by cleaners, so he turned another way.

It was a hall of records. Vision smiled slightly as he passed by each one.

But then he saw one that made him stop.

It was your record, for the first album you released that has now gone triple platinum.

He saw a couple more of your records framed up.

He was reeling.

This was too weird.

Someone was passing by, and Vision stopped them. It was Ryan, the engineer that would be helping him with his album.

“Ryan...what’s this? Why are her albums framed up here?”

Ryan gave him a weird look as he gazed over your albums.

“She’s an artiste at this company. Has been for a really long time. You never see her around, though. She’s been here long enough and produced enough results that they just let her do her own thing. In fact, you guys share the same manager.”

“What?” Vision choked.

Ryan had his eyebrows scrunched at Vision. Maybe he was a fan?

“I-I gotta go,” Vision said as he turned around and bolted out.

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“Can I look yet?”

“No, and don’t you dare peek.”

You have your hands over Wanda’s eyes as you safely guide her into your guys’ new home. She had mostly been busy with work, so you had taken the liberty of making sure everything would be set up.

Of course, you still had sent her a billion texts to see what type of furniture and color theme Wanda preferred.

Today was the move-in day, and you had picked your girlfriend up when she was done work for the day.

“Please, I just want to see now,” Wanda whined, and you hushed her.

“Patience is a virtue, love,” you tease her. You hear her huff slightly.

“Well, I’m very naughty,” she teased you right back, and you had to bite your lip.

Dear lord, you needed to move faster before Wanda decided she wanted to have her wicked way with you without you being able to show her the whole place.

Once you’re in the perfect spot, you smile as you kiss the back of Wanda’s head gently before releasing your hands.

Wanda’s eyes flutter open, awe washing over her as she takes a look at the entire place.

It was big.

It was beautiful.

It was her dream home.

The soft, pastel colors and marbling of the furniture was a dream. She turns around, jumping into your arms, kissing you right on your mouth.

“I love it,” she gushes. “Thank you for taking care of all this.”

You merely hum happily, leaning in to kiss her again. Wanda walks around the house, touching nearly everything and gushing about how everything looks perfect.

By the time you make it back to the living room, she turns to you, head tilted to the side with her fingers on her chin.

“You know, maybe there is one thing that’s missing,” she says, taking a look around herself.

“Really? What?” You ask, trying your best to think if you missed anything.

Wanda looks back at you with a wicked grin.

“I think we need to christen the house.”

Before you know it, you’re revisiting every room in the house again.

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Wanda is on cloud nine by the time she reaches her friends for brunch the next day.

“Hey, girls. Sorry, I’m late,” she greets them as she takes her seat next to Lily. Her other friend Anna from her party and at the charity was there too. Finally, Stacey had been invited by Anna.

Lily was snickering as Wanda took a seat. “What happened? Miss DJ didn’t want to let you out of bed?”

Wanda immediately flushed red at her cheeks, the heat traveling all the way to her ears.

Because that’s exactly what happened.

You had tried to convince her to stay in bed longer using your sexy, cocky smirk she liked, and your deft fingers and tongue.

Managing to keep in her in bed for another half hour, Wanda put all her willpower into getting up and running to the bathroom where you couldn’t follow.

She definitely wanted to stay in bed longer too.

“Damn, girl, you really getting it,” Lily whistled, and Wanda had to push her friend playfully.

“I’m so jealous of you,” Anna whined as she sighed wistfully with her head in her hands. “I can’t believe you’re dating Lady Phantom. I had no idea she was so romantic. Everyone’s been talking about how she serenaded you at your party.”

Wanda only lightly chuckled, cheeks warm from the praises.

“Oh!” Anna exclaimed as she sat upright, pulling her phone up and searching for something before showing it to Wanda. “Since your last interview where you revealed you were dating her, so many other tabloids are picking it up.”

Wanda grabbed the phone, looking at the headlines.

LADY PHANTOM HAS A GIRLFRIEND?

INFLUENCER WANDA MAXIMOFF BAGS ELUSIVE DJ.

LADY PHANTOM AND WANDA MAXIMOFF CAUGHT HOLDING HANDS AND KISSING WHILE WALKING

DJ LADY PHANTOM AND INFLUENCER WANDA MAXIMOFF BUY A HOUSE TOGETHER? IS THE ELUSIVE DJ SETTLING DOWN?

Wanda bit her lip as she clicked on one of the headlines, skimming through it.

A close source says that Lady Phantom may have whisked Wanda Maximoff right off her feet from new artist Vision. The source says that the DJ romantically serenaded Wanda at her birthday party recently. Swoon! What a lucky girl!

The smile on Wanda’s face was so broad as she passed her phone back to Anna.

She was the girl who locked you down.

“It’s crazy how they’ve already got this much information. We just bought the house in Los Altos Hills,” Wanda says offhandedly, casually dropping the neighborhood she now resides in.

“What?” Stacey exclaims, surprised, and a little bit jealous as well. She had tried to cling to you during the party, but you didn’t seem interested at all.

“Nice houses there aren’t under $1.6 million and the photos you posted to Instagram...shit, how much was it?”

Wanda just smiled and shrugged, she wasn’t about to brag how you and she got a $5 million dollar house.

It was crazy to her. She would’ve never been able to buy one of the beautiful houses of Los Altos Hills with Vision.

It just felt like her dreams of having everything she wanted in her life and to share it with the person she loves was all coming true.

The rest of the brunch went on as usual. The girls were screaming in excitement that she would be doing a photoshoot with David King. Wanda hadn’t even told them that she would be auditioning for a movie soon after.

“Excuse me,” Wanda called the waitress as she was passing by. “Could I get an order of the traditional breakfast bowl to go? Medium poached eggs and extra hollandaise sauce, please.”

The waitress nodded with a smile before leaving.

“You bringing some for your girlfriend?” Lily asked with teasing in her tone.

Wanda nodded with a smile, “Yeah, we, uh, didn’t have time for breakfast this morning, and she had to go to the studio right after. I’m going to visit her with food.”

Lily sighed adoringly, “Oh, young love, how it is...”

“You’re younger than me, Lil,” Wanda said, and they both laughed.

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Wanda was on her way, closing in on the studio to see you when her phone started vibrating.

She transferred your food into her other hand that was holding up her bag as she dug her free hand into her back pocket, tongue out as she picked up.

“Hello,” she answered, not being able to check the caller ID before she picked up.

“Wanda--” The voice was frantic.

“Vision?” Wanda answered confusedly. Why was her ex calling her?

“How’ve you been? I heard your single is doing well. I’m happy for you,” Wanda told him warmly regardless of why he was calling her.

“Yeah, Wanda, listen, you need to break up with your girlfriend. I told you there was something wrong with her!”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Wanda said heatedly. How could he just call to say that?

“I knew this opportunity to sign on was too good to be true. She’s from the same company, even has the same manager as me! I know she sent her manager to recruit me on the day of your birthday. She set me up to not show up!”

“Did someone tell you that?” Wanda asked, her walk becoming brisker as she was getting heated.

“No, but--”

“Then how the hell do you know that’s true? So what that you’re in the same company with the same manager? She tells me she hardly talks to her manager as she essentially handles her own work. Also, even if that were true, no one told you to drink yourself to a blackout state and miss my birthday. You could’ve signed on, had your celebratory drink, and left,” Wanda huffed.

“I am not hashing this out with you again, Viz,” Wanda said finally.

“Wanda, please, listen to me. There really is something off about her. She’s clearly obsessed with you. Who knows how long she’s been plotting to get you.”

“You want me to be offended my girlfriend wants me and finds me desirable?”

“No, I want you to be offended that she has no boundaries and sabotaged me to get you!”

“That’s seriously insane, Vision. She’s a famous DJ, and I’m just a social influencer. Does that make any sense to you?”

“Wanda--”

“Vision!” Wanda interrupted him. “I don’t want to hear about this again. We’re supposed to have an amicable breakup. Seriously, don’t call me again if you’re going to just say this.”

She could hear him saying something else as she hung up. She huffed again, rolling her eyes slightly.

Wanda tried to shake off the icky mood that the call put her in. She didn’t want to be grumpy when she saw you.

She placed her knuckles against the door softly as she knocked.

It wasn’t you who opened the door, but the guy seemed to have recognized her and let her in, putting his finger to his lips to signal her to be quiet.

She sheepishly shrugged her shoulders as she tiptoed in.

There she found you, your back facing her as you were looking over the recording, playing it with headphones on.

Wanda heard you hum lightly before you pressed a button to speak to the singer inside the recording studio.

“That was pretty good, but can you try redoing the last line? Instead of just holding the note on the last word, do a vocal run.”

The singer nodded, clearing her throat as she got ready.

Everyone watched as she redid it, and it sounded amazing. The difference was so subtle, but it sent chills down their spine.

“That’s perfect! Great job. Why don’t you take a break?” You suggested.

Once everyone began to relax, you turned around, surprise in your eyes as you saw your girlfriend standing there.

Wanda immediately went over to embrace you, kissing you softly.

Damn, you were so sexy when you worked.

You hummed into the kiss, clearly enjoying it.

“Mm,” you pulled back slightly. “What are you doing here? I thought you had brunch with your friends.”

Wanda gave you a half-smirk, holding onto the lapels of your leather jacket. “Well, I thought since you weren’t able to get breakfast this morning due to your shenanigans, I thought I’d bring you some.”

“What kind of shenanigans?” A dude from the back yelled, and everyone laughed as you rolled your eyes.

You looked back at your girlfriend, adoration just filling your eyes as you looked at her. Grabbing her hand and the food off the table, you led her out.

“C’mon, let’s eat outside. There’s too much testosterone in here.”

The boys laughed again, and Wanda giggled.

You led her out to the back where a lovely table and bench were in the shade under a tree.

Taking out the food, your stomach nearly ate itself, smelling the aroma.

You really were hungry.

But the hunger was definitely worth keeping Wanda in bed as long as you could this morning.

“So,” you said as you scooped some food onto your spoon. “How was brunch?”

“It was good. Lily, Anna, and Stacey were there.”

“Stacey as in...that girl from your birthday?”

Wanda scrunched her nose up at that but nodded. “Yeah...she totally wants to kill me so she can date you.”

You laughed, bringing your hand to your mouth. You swallowed your food before talking again.

“I highly doubt she could get the drop on you, so no worries there.”

“You’re damn right,” Wanda mumbled as you smiled.

Wanda watched you eat, her mouth curling upwards without her even realizing. You were always so focused on your food while eating, and she thought it was endearing.

“So,” Wanda says. “Have you...seen the tabloids by any chance?”

Your licking remnants of hollandaise sauce from your lips as you hear Wanda ask that. You nod, scooping more food.

“Mhm,” you say, spoon in their air as you have yet to put it into your mouth. You tilt your head, brow quirked as you look up slightly. “I hear a very, very attractive social influencer has bagged an elusive DJ. Apparently, they’ve been spotted buying a house together. How scandalous.”

Wanda is grinning ear to ear. God, why were you also so funny?

“Yes,” she plays along. “All the tabloids are saying that the DJ is settling down, can you believe that?”

You’re trying to hide your grin as you reply. “Buying a house is now settling down? Whew, that is quite the leap. What will the public say when she gets married?”

“Do you think she’s considering marriage?” Wanda asks, biting her thumb lightly as she regards you. God, she hopes you are.

You’ve finished your food, packing it away back into its bag to be thrown away later.

You look at Wanda.

And by God, she just might be everything you’ve ever wanted.

The thought of someone else won’t even cross your mind.

If it isn’t Wanda, it just won’t do.

You brush your leg against her lightly under the table, gently smiling as you lean back on your hands a little.

The two of you are gazing into each other’s eyes, just feeling like everything is right in the world.

“I would say that now she’s found the right person, it’s a part of her plans.”

Wanda beams.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

The next two week passes by quickly, and before Wanda knows it, she’s heading over to meet up with David King at his studio bright and early.

Her stomach is exploding with butterflies as she walks in.

Wanda wishes that you could be here with her, but you were stuck doing an interview with someone for a magazine today.

David’s assistant recognizes her for today’s appointment, greeting Wanda with a friendly smile and a handshake.

She leads Wanda over into the room where David is just finishing setting up the lighting.

“Hey!” He greets as he comes in to hug her with a kiss on her cheek. “Are you ready for some collaborating today?”

Wanda nods excitedly.

“Great! Let’s talk about what you want your theme to be. Once we have that, I’ll know what other magazines to send your photos and interview to in addition to posting it on my website.”

Wanda and David sit at the table, he pours her some tea while they work together on what she wants out of this photoshoot and interview.

“I want to show my personality, that I’m not just some dumb social influencer. I won’t just rep anything, and there are brands I really care about working with. I also want to show that I have other interests as well, like...acting.”

David smiles, kindly at her. “Yes, I’ve been told you’ve secured an audition in two weeks.”

Wanda bashfully smiles and shrugs, “Not so much me who secured it, but I definitely don’t want to disappoint her.”

David snorts, “I’m pretty sure you could murder someone, and she wouldn’t be disappointed.”

Wanda just boisterously laughs because she does get that vibe from you, but that just makes it all more endearing to her that you love her so.

After they’ve settled on themes, they immediately work on taking photos as David wants to use as much natural lighting as he can. David finds that the whole process is really smooth because Wanda is someone who wants to be a part of the process, not just doing everything he tells her.

It’s much more fulfilling to work with her. He is quite happy you got him to take a chance on her.

Once they’ve taken photos, they’re both looking over them. Wanda gives her opinion on some of the selections as an amateur photographer herself, and David finds it so refreshing.

Wanda was definitely not afraid to give her opinions, ask for perspective, or ask for his reasonings.

In the next part, they work on the short essay David can post to his blog along with the photos. Additionally, he gets her to answer a few interview questions so the magazine he picks to give his photos to can use the answers she provides too.

The entire collaboration takes the whole day, so by the time they finish, the sun has just finished setting.

“It was so great to work with you, Wanda,” David gushes as he goes in to hug her again. “Seriously, I haven’t had such a great collaboration like this in a long time.”

“Oh my god, no, please. It’s such an honor to work with you,” Wanda modestly says, while she raves about him.

David just grins as her while she turns to get her things in order.

“I’m so glad your girlfriend was able to get me to meet you. I was honestly surprised by the whole thing.”

“What do you mean?” Wanda asks as she starts to pack her things back into her bag.

“Well, you know,” David says with a shake of his hand. “I actually usually have a very strict rule about not working with social media influencers. I’ve tried a couple in the past, but I found them to be incredibly vapid.”

Wanda just smiles, unsure how to answer but pleased that he obviously found her different.

“I’ve actually seen your vlogs and Instagram before, it was my boyfriend Liam who had originally discovered you months ago. Your girlfriend was over that day, and I showed her your profile. I didn’t think she would actually end up finding you, befriend you, and then end up dating you.”

It was like time slowed for Wanda.

What?

You actually had known of her beforehand?

Wanda immediately flashed back to when she first met you and invited you inside for drinks.

“What do you do for work?”

“I suppose Vision would say I’m a photographer. It’s nothing really, I post vlogs and brands pay me to represent their stuff.”

“No way! That’s seriously amazing. So, you’re kind of famous?”

But by what David said, you would’ve already known what she did and that she had a following.

Why did you lie?

Vision’s call from two weeks ago popped into her mind, and she felt like she was going to be sick to her stomach.

God, was what he said true?

“Are you okay?” David asked with worry as he looked at Wanda, who looked a little pale.

Wanda snapped out of it, turning to him with a smile.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she says, pulling her bag onto her shoulder. “Yeah, it’s crazy how things work out, isn’t it? I’ve got to head home now. Once again, thank you so much, David.”

He hushes her and sees her off.

Wanda is making a beeline, hailing for a cab.

She needs to see you.

Now.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

“This is beautiful, thank you. Please keep the change.”

You took the bouquet of flowers you just bought from a flower shop on your way home.

It was filled with all of Wanda’s favorite flowers and wrapped together nicely. You wanted to congratulate her on her big day with David. You knew once he would post it to his site and give it to whatever magazines, Wanda was going to be blowing up.

It definitely would work in her favor for her audition in two weeks.

You drove home, idly tapping on the steering wheel as you thought about what to have for a late dinner. You knew it was unlikely that Wanda could eat much today since they decided to get everything done today.

Maybe order in some pizza?

But then Wanda wanted to stay in shape as much as possible before her audition.

Maybe lemon & butter salmon?

You pull up into your driveway, turning your car off as you grab the bouquet.

“I’m home!” You call out as you walk in, but there’s no response.

The house is completely dark, which you find strange because Wanda is usually in the living room watching TV or in the kitchen when she’s waiting for you.

“Wanda?” You call out as you walk up the stairs.

You enter the bedroom.

The small lamp on the bedside is on, and you find Wanda sitting on her chair in front of the vanity mirror you got her.

You walk over to her, but she doesn’t talk to you.

“Baby?” You call softly as you kneel down before her, placing the bouquet down, touching her shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

Did something happen?

Was she hurt?

David had texted you when it was over that it went great, and thanked you again for getting him to meet her.

So, what was wrong?

Wanda looks at you with a still expression. She turns her whole body to you and her jaw clenches before she releases it.

“I want to ask you something, and please tell me the truth.”

You scrunch your eyebrows together because you have no idea what she wants to ask you, but you nod.

“Did you,” Wanda breathes. “Did you know who I was before you met me?”

The stillness hits you immediately.

You regard her, taking in her desperate expression as she looks at you.

You could’ve lied.

You could tell her that David may have shown you her profile before, but you hardly cared to notice or remember it.

You could’ve told her anything, and Wanda would’ve believed it.

But...there was something else there.

So, you didn’t.

“I did,” you admitted, watching as Wanda stood up, walking over to the other side of the room with disbelief on her face.

You stood up as well, crossing your arms but making no move to her.

“Why did you lie?” Wanda asked. “Were you stalking me? Is that how you found me at the fast-food chain?”

“I wouldn’t say stalking,” you say as if she was being dramatic. “I came to California for work planned months before, you just happened to be here as well. Was I interested in you? Yes. Did I somehow know that you were going to be there to eat and live in the same community? No.”

Wanda’s mind was reeling. She couldn’t help but replay Vision’s words over and over in her head.

“Did you want me? From the very beginning?”

You couldn’t help but quirk your eyebrow. There was definitely something she was hiding from you.

“As I said, I was interested in you, but I knew you were engaged.”

“Is it true?” She asked, and you’re not even sure what she’s referring to. “That you and Vision are under the same company? That you even share a manager?”

Ah, it hits you. Now you know where this is coming from. Vision had found out what he could. But you knew Charles would never tell him that you had purposely sent him to Vision.

“Yes,” you admit once more.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Wanda asks, frustration in her tone.

You shrug your shoulders. “As I told you, I don’t often talk to my manager as I handle my own affairs. It’s not really any of my business who he decides to sign on.”

“So you didn’t deliberately get your manager to sign Vision on and make him miss my birthday?”

You paused.

Another choice.

You could lie.

It would be so easy to.

But you had to push it more.

“I did show my manager Vision’s work on SoundCloud,” you say instead. It was true, even if it wasn’t the whole truth.

Wanda understands, anyways.

Her breath hitches, and she’s putting her hands to her face.

She can’t believe this is happening.

This time, you begin to walk over to her, standing right before her.

“You’re insane,” Wanda says with a crazed laugh. “Vision’s right. You are obsessed with me. You were sabotaging him to get me! What am I to you even? Some sort of sick prize?”

Your jaw clenches a little. She’s starting to hit on your nerve a little, but you remain patient.

You close in on her, backing her until she hits the wall. You raise your arms slowly to either side of her head, giving her ample time to leave if she wanted.

But she didn’t.

“I wouldn’t say signing him onto a record label, giving him the spotlight, actually earning money for his work, which I heard he’s doing pretty well now, by the way, is sabotaging him. Here’s the thing, Wanda. Yes, I did set him up. I told my manager to sign his untalented ass on and treat him like a king on your birthday. But guess what? Vision didn’t have to stay. If he really, truly, wanted to leave, Charles couldn’t have done anything about that. No one forced him to keep taking the next drink. No one told him to not care about you.”

Wanda is silent, angry tears come up to her waterline as she stares at you with a clenched jaw.

“I’m not putting myself up on a pedestal here, but it was me that came through for you every time,” You tell Wanda. “Am I obsessed with you? Maybe. But don’t stand there and pretend that you don’t enjoy my attention. You love the fact that Lady Phantom dedicates sets to you, serenaded you, bought you $100,000 necklace in front of everyone. You love people giving you accolades that we’re together. You love that people are jealous of the fact that they’re looking at me while I’m looking at you.”

You called her out, hitting her right on the dot.

She can’t even deny it because it’s true.

But Wanda still loves you. That much is real.

“So what?” She scoffs. “It’s all fake then? Everything you did was a meticulously thought out plan to win me? Everything you did was purposely done to draw me to you?”

“There’s nothing wrong with planning,” you say to her softly. “Even if I did plan it, it doesn’t mean I don’t care. I care very much. My heart was breaking about the fact you were with someone that was dragging you behind, making you feel guilty about wanting more out of life. It broke my heart to think that you spend every year alone on Pietro’s anniversary because he didn’t try to do more for you. It made me angry to hear people snidely make comments about you when Vision didn’t show up for your birthday. I hate when you’re not in the spotlight because that’s where you deserve to be. If someone is stealing it from you, I’ll do everything I can to shift the light to you.”

Wanda had a single tear slide down her cheek. She grabs onto the ends of your jacket, desperate to feel you closer.

She has to know.

She needs to know.

“Do you even love me?” She asks softly, and it nearly breaks your heart all over.

You lift one hand to lower it to her face, cupping her jaw and neck delicately. You move your face closer to hers, giving her all the time she needs to pull away if she doesn’t want you.

”I do. So much. In a way that only you could ever understand.”

Wanda doesn’t pull away.

She never wanted to in the first place.

This was never about breaking up.

You knew that. Which is why you risked telling her the entire truth.

She wanted to know that what you had for her was real, that she could never be replaced.

That you were hers.

You press your lips to her firmly, your tongue swiping her bottom lip as she moans softly.

She pulls you closer to her, pressing your body to hers completely as she melts into you. She lifts her arms, wrapping them around your neck as she continues to kiss you.

You push off the wall, redirecting her to your shared bed as you topple on top of her with a knee in between her legs.

You pull back softly, your hand drifting underneath her shirt as you caress the soft skin there.

Her eyes open slowly, and she just looks electric to you.

“I love you,” she says quietly, and you can’t help but press another soft kiss to her as your hand lowers into her panties.

“You secretly love it, don’t you? What I do to you.” You say against her jaw, and it’s a little muffled.

Wanda’s breath hitches, chest rising as you touch her just the right way against her clit, rubbing through her wet folds.

She nods, but you want to hear it.

“I want to hear you say it, baby,” you huskily say as you tease her. Your other hand is around the back of her neck, just grasping at her hair.

Wanda’s moaning shamelessly as you circle her clit again, diving lower as your fingers tease her entrance. God, it feels so slippery.

Fuck, she really wants your fingers in her. The knotting in her stomach gets even worse when you nibble her collarbone.

But she knows you won’t give it to her until she gives you what you want.

“I love it,” Wanda moans. “I love the way you drive me crazy.”

859 notes · View notes

raywritesthings · 5 years

Text

Wrong Road to the Right Place 11/?

My Writing Fandom: Arrow Characters: Oliver Queen, Laurel Lance, Quentin Lance, John Diggle, Thea Queen, Moira Queen, Joanna de la Vega Pairings: Laurel Lance/Oliver Queen Summary: Laurel finds herself curious about the marks Oliver showed her that night in his bedroom - and the tattoo on his left shoulder stands out in particular. When she discovers its meaning, she finds herself questioning everything she knows about the man she doesn’t want to admit she still loves. *Can also be read on my AO3 page*

As was their habit now, Laurel entered the car after Thea, sharing a quick smile with Oliver as John pulled away from CNRI.

“Hey, can I come over to the club with you guys?” Thea asked. “I wanted to talk to Tommy about something.”

“Alright,” Oliver agreed. “Anything in particular?”

“I was wondering how the hiring process was going. There’s a couple people I know who could use the money.”

“That’s very thoughtful of you, Thea,” Laurel remarked.

“I thought so,” she said with a satisfied smile. Laurel shook her head as she took out her phone to check for messages. A quick scroll through her news app had her raising her eyebrows.

She passed it over to Oliver. “Have you been following this?”

He skimmed the headline she’d left up. “Well, it’s a good thing we don’t have many investments in antiques.”

Thea looked between them. “Why, what’s going on?”

“Just a story about a jewel thief. They’re saying he uses bombs to coerce people into helping him, and he might be hitting Starling City next,” Laurel explained. Just thinking about how messed up a person had to be to do that kind of thing gave her the creeps.

“Jeez, why not just buy jewels with the bomb money?”

Oliver smirked. “Unfortunately, I think he’d still come up short for the kind of jewels he wants. People put a lot of value on them.”

“We’re here,” Diggle announced, and they all got out of the car. Thea went through the front while the three of them headed into the base through the back door. “So, what’s the plan tonight?”

“What about the Dodger?” Laurel suggested.

“This the bomb guy?” Digg checked. She nodded and handed him her phone for him to read. “We got time for that, Oliver?”

Oliver frowned. “I was going to pay a visit to Ted Williams tonight. He’s stolen millions from people through a pyramid scheme, he’s on the list, and he seems the type to break if you put the right pressure on him.”

“Ideal candidate,” Digg agreed.

Laurel still had some misgivings. “But if this thief is in town, he could get in and out while you’re interrogating Williams.”

“The mission takes priority, Laurel.”

“Well, this guy does use bombs, Oliver.” John had finished scanning the article and passed her phone back. “Does seem pretty dangerous to let him run around unchecked.”

“I don’t know what you want me to do. I can’t exactly be in two places at once,” said Oliver.

An idea came to her. “What if you didn’t have to be?”

“What do you mean?”

“Let me handle Williams,” she said. “I can make a case against him and call him in for negotiations or a settlement, and then we’ll talk. That leaves you free to handle the Dodger.”

“I don’t know if that’s safe, Laurel.”

She rolled her eyes. There was a reason she still hadn’t told him about her lessons with Digg, not to mention her shopping around for an additional trainer. “It’s a legal case, Ollie. The worst I can get is a paper cut. I’ll hit him with the evidence of his pyramid scheme and offer him a deal if he gives us information on the Undertaking.”

Oliver frowned. “I don’t know.”

“We’ll get more done in the same amount of time that way,” John remarked. “Plus, if you go after Dodger instead of Williams, it’ll make it harder for the Dark Archer and his boss to predict our next move.”

“I don’t want anyone knowing what we’re doing,” Oliver agreed. “But if Williams doesn’t break—”

“He will,” Laurel said. “It’s either that, or he’s going to court for his crimes. I’d guess most of the people on that list would do anything to save their own skins.”

“Alright, we’ll try it this way.” Oliver took a seat in front of the computer. “For now, let’s get to work tracking down this Dodger.”

While he and Diggle set to work, she got started pulling together all the information Oliver had recovered about Williams and his pyramid scheme. Even if she wasn’t planning to go to court over this, it would be important to make the proceedings look as legitimate as possible.

Laurel spent the whole next day drawing up papers against Williams to be sent over to his office. She was missing Thea and her assistance, but it was her day off community service. Probably for the best that she didn’t get mixed up in this, come to think of it.

She received an email just before getting ready to log off from Mike Burr, Williams’ attorney, demanding a meeting. Laurel was only too happy to oblige, inviting the pair of them to CNRI the next morning. It was clear Burr wanted to settle this discretely and quickly, which was exactly her aim as well.

While Oliver was out that night she and John squeezed in some more training at the base. As impatient as she was to get really started, she could admit going over these basics was proving more useful than she’d thought. It’d make her all the more ready to begin with a new trainer.

She’d changed back into her usual clothes by the time Oliver returned, frustrated since the Dodger had given both him and the cops the slip, but he and Diggle began drawing up a new plan.

“See, he didn’t get to steal anything, either, so he’ll want to pick up something before he goes,” Digg explained. “If we can figure out the kind of stuff he’s after, we’ll know where he’s planning to strike next.”

“Let me know if I can help.”

“Just get Williams to talk,” Oliver said.

“Oh, I’ll make him sing,” she promised, then smirked. “That’s what I do, right?”

Ollie only turned a dull red this time while John laughed. “Should have left you both wondering.”

She got in the car with the pair of them, going back over some of her notes while they drove to her apartment. To her surprise, Oliver got out of the passenger seat just as she was exiting the car.

“Pretty sure this is my stop,” she remarked. “Not yours.”

“Yeah, well, in case Williams or his lawyer get ideas like Sommers did, I can’t be all the way back at the manor,” he explained. Oliver took her arm and began walking them to the building. “I’ll stay on the couch.”

“I have a guest room.”

He gave a minute shake of the head as they crossed the lobby to the elevator. “Front room is better.”

“Yeah, but Ollie, the couch?”

“A bad mattress was the least of my problems on the island. I’ll be fine.”

Laurel sighed. She knew Oliver had endured terrible conditions, and she respected that he had done so. She just wished he knew he didn’t have to keep subjecting himself to situations like that or measuring pain in those kind of extremes anymore. Just because he could spend a night on the couch didn’t mean he should have to.

She knew better than to argue the point with him now. And as much as she wanted to argue she could take care of herself, she also knew she wasn’t ready to take on the likes of the Triad if Williams went that far. Not yet, anyway.

Laurel got out a mountain of blankets and pillows in an effort to make the couch a little more comfortable, and noticed how Oliver carefully laid his shoes on the floor at one end. She had a feeling he could be ready to jump into them at a moment’s notice if he needed to.

“Try and get some actual sleep, okay?” She requested.

“Don’t worry about me.”

She shook her head. “Worry goes both ways, Ollie.” Laurel walked back to the hallway and paused at her door. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

It was a little difficult settling down at first, knowing he was out there in the next room. Sharing an apartment, if only for one night, just like she’d wanted all those years ago...Laurel drifted off into dreams of a far more pleasant kind than she’d been used to the last five years, though she would never admit them to a living soul.

She woke to the smell of coffee and eggs coming from the kitchen, and she slipped into her robe to follow the scent. Oliver was at the stove, some of his hair sticking up in little tufts here and there, and she couldn’t fight back a smile.

“Helping yourself?”

He looked back at her with a smirk. “I was lucky to find this much in your fridge. But no, these are for you.”

She grabbed two plates anyway and stood with her arms crossed until he split the food and joined her at the table.

“Big day today.”

She nodded and swallowed down her mouthful of eggs. “I guess on the scale of evil, Williams is slightly better than Sommers. No break-in.”

“No,” he agreed. “But we should keep our guard up all the same. He could decide to after you two talk.”

“Well, if we’re making this a habit, then you’re definitely taking the guest room. You can’t fight bad guys if you have a bad back,” she pointed out before he could open his mouth.

Oliver thought it over for a minute. “We’ll see.”

Laurel stood and put her plate in the sink. “I’m going to get ready. Do you, uh, need the shower?”

“I’ll just get one back home. Digg’s on his way to pick me up. We think there might actually be something in my family’s collection we can tempt the Dodger with.”

Laurel left her bedroom door open while she looked through her closet for a change of clothes. In the kitchen, water was running in the sink, and she’d bet anything Oliver had started on the dishes. “How’s that?”

“There’s an auction event tonight. I’ll tell you more about it at lunch.”

“We’re getting lunch, too?”

“We are now,” she heard him reply.

Laurel smiled to herself. She had a feeling that was more to do with how eager Oliver would be to hear whatever intel she obtained from Williams, but that wasn’t a bad thing in her eyes.

“Digg’s here,” Oliver called to her. “I’ll see you later.”

“See you.”

She heard the front door open and shut, and Laurel moved through the rest of her morning routine before heading out herself.

All in all, she was in high spirits when she led Williams and Burr back into the empty conference room at CNRI later that morning. Burr was making a big show at being belligerent.

“You have nothing substantial on my client. You don’t even have a plaintiff.”

Laurel gestured to the other side of the table and sat down as they did, making a show of thumbing through the folder sitting there. “What I have is a pretty big file. Practically the size of a book. And it’s got quite the long list inside,” she added, lifting her eyes to lock with a rapidly paling Williams. “A list that’s been preoccupying Mr. Williams’ thoughts the last few months, if I’m not mistaken.”

“What are you talking about?” The attorney looked between her and Williams. “Ted, what’s she talking about?”

“Get out, Mike,” Williams muttered.

“What?”

“I said get the hell out!”

“You heard your client,” Laurel said with a smirk.

Burr glared at her but had gotten the message from Williams, and he shook his head as he stood and exited the room.

Williams leaned over the table. “How do you know about that list?”

“That’s not important. What is important is what you know, Mr. Williams. Such as the name of the person who wrote it.”

“You’re- you’re kidding, right? I can’t tell you that.”

“If you don’t want to talk, that’s fine. We can just go to trial for your pyramid scheme, and you can kiss coaching your son’s soccer team goodbye for a long time.” She glanced up at him. “Your call.”

Williams gaped at her. “This is blackmail.”

“Which is something you’re familiar with, isn’t it? That’s what the list was written for, right?” She pressed. “Who has been blackmailing you, Mr. Williams?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“Because whoever is in charge of this isn’t a friend to the people of this city. He’s the one who ordered the copycat archer to take those hostages at Christmas. Whatever else he’s planning has to be stopped, and we both know the police aren’t going to be the ones who do it.”

“And you think you will?” He nearly laughed.

“If not me, then someone. I think we both know there’s another archer who’s pretty keen on the list.” She shrugged. “You can talk to him instead if that’s what you want.”

Williams turned red. “Is that a threat?”

“It’s an inevitability. You and I both know you’ve done enough to put you in his sights eventually. Think about your son, Mr. Williams. Do you really want to explain why the two of you get a visit from the Hood one night?” Laurel knew, of course, that Williams’ son would never be in danger of Ollie. But he also liked striking the fear of God into people like Ted Williams, so she didn’t think he’d mind her implying the worst if it got them the answers they needed.

“You can’t—”

“I can stop that from happening. I just need a name.”

“Merlyn!” Williams blurted. “Malcolm Merlyn.”

Laurel sat back. “What?”

Of all the names that had even crossed her mind, that had never been one of them. Malcolm was Tommy’s dad. He’d been one of Mr. Queen’s best friends. He was Starling City’s humanitarian of the year.

“He wrote the list. He’s the one who let us know what he knew, that he’d turn us over to the police if we didn’t do what he wanted. Donate money, build a hospital, that sort of thing. But he stopped asking about five years ago,” Williams said in a rush. “I thought it was done. He said it was over!”

“He ended it? Why?” Maybe if he had, then Williams was wrong. Maybe it was someone else pulling the strings now—

But Williams shook his head. “No. I’ve already told you too much. I have to get out of this city before he finds out about this. My son. We’ll have to move. Do you understand? That’s the kind of power he has.”

“Mr. Williams, you’re not saying—”

“You should get yourself out, too, if you know what’s good for you.”

“But—”

Williams was already walking, however, and the door slammed shut behind him. Laurel sat there for an unknowable time. Williams had looked and sounded absolutely genuine — but how could it be true?

—-

He tried not to drum his fingers on his leg as he watched the traffic slowly pass by. They had plenty of time before the gala tonight where their trap on the Count would be sprung.

Oliver glanced at the brooch sitting in wrapping on the seat beside him. Diggle would be the one to deliver it to the organizers. Oliver was planning to meet him a little later; he had a ticket to the event he needed to give Laurel — a good way to maintain their cover of dating if nothing else — and he wanted to know what she’d gotten out of Williams.

Soon enough, the car came to a stop outside the law office, and he got out of the car.

“Hey, Oliver.”

He turned back. John had rolled down the window and held out his phone with a notification on the screen displayed.

Chen returns home after deal with Beijing

“I’ve been tracking the business section. Figured that’d be our best shot at hearing news.” Digg clicked the link and scanned the article. “Says he got in mid-morning yesterday.”

“Keep an eye on that. Good work, John.” He patted the roof of the car and turned to head into CNRI as his friend pulled away.

Kevin Chen was back. What did that mean?

Hopefully that and whatever Laurel was able to get from Ted Williams would be good news.

When he entered the office, Laurel wasn’t at her desk. A woman named Anastasia told him she was still in a meeting, and he stated he intended to wait. He displayed the gala ticket for good measure. Better for people to think he was here for only a date.

He wasn’t kept waiting long. The door to CNRI’s conference room swung open. Oliver hid his smirk as he watched Williams leave in a hurry, looking incredibly shaken. That was Laurel.

It took longer for her to emerge. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected. Frustration, disappointment, perhaps a wide self-satisfied grin?

Not this. Not the tense, wide-eyed fear Laurel seemed to only just barely be keeping a lid on as she walked right up to him and took his arm.

“So, lunch?”

“Sure.” He tucked the gala ticket away in his pocket. “Everything okay?”

“Not here,” she muttered.

He didn’t even spot Thea before they’d left the building, and Laurel led them a few streets away without showing any signs of slowing.

He tugged her to a stop. “Laurel, what’s going on? What did Ted Williams say?”

She still looked to be in shock, and it took her some time to raise her gaze to his.

“It’s Malcolm. Tommy’s dad.”

The air left his lungs in one exhale. He had to question his own ears for a moment. But there was no mistaking who Laurel meant.

“Are we sure?”

“Williams was. And he’s planning to leave the city as soon as possible now that he’s told me. I mean, Oliver, he sounds terrified of Malcolm.”

It just seemed so unreal. Sure, at times Malcolm could seem a little distant or cold, usually when it came to Tommy. But to think he could be behind something like this?

“We’ll watch to see what Williams does, whether this is some kind of bluff. Then I’ll interrogate another person to see if their stories match.” It was tantamount that they verify this before taking the next step. There would likely only be one chance to catch the man behind the Undertaking unawares. If this was a setup, Oliver didn’t plan to fall for it.

Laurel nodded, seeming to calm from hearing his reasoning. “Okay. What about Tommy?”

“Don’t say anything to him. He’s not involved either way.” Once they knew the truth about Malcolm, then a decision could be made. “We’ll figure this out, Laurel.”

Oliver weighed the pros and cons of going after another person on the list or skipping up the food chain to Chen now that he was back. Chen might be more likely to report to his boss, even if he did know more. Assuming he was in the know at all.

But he was getting ahead of himself. He’d already set a trap for the Dodger tonight, and that he had to follow through. So Oliver withdrew the tickets again.

“For now, I was wondering if you wanted to help me stop a thief tonight?” He pitched his tone purposefully light; he didn’t like seeing her look so shaken. It seemed to work. She glanced up and met his eyes, one corner of her lips quirking upward.

“If I didn’t know any better, that would almost sound like a date,” Laurel remarked.

“We vigilantes make do.”

“Uh-huh.” She plucked one of the tickets from his grasp. “When should I expect you and John?”

“Seven. The gala officially kicks off at eight.”

“Alright. I should get back to the office so I can head out a little early, then. Which means a rain check on lunch.” She placed the gala ticket in her purse, then looked up at him. “Thanks for helping me process, well, that.”

“No problem. I’m not sure I would’ve known what to say if Williams had told me Malcolm’s name.”

“Well, I needed a bit of grounding, and you gave me that.” She leaned in for a hug, which he was only too glad to return. “I’ll see you at seven, Ollie.”

“See you, Laurel.”

He watched her walk away, and grinned when she looked back upon reaching the door to smile at him. It wasn’t hard to fake dating Laurel, and that was probably a problem. He’d spent the night at her place, cooked breakfast for the pair of them, and now was planning on attending a gala with her on his arm. If he wasn’t careful, he’d start forgetting this wasn’t real. Oliver turned and took out his phone to text Diggle for a lift back to the manor.

If Malcolm Merlyn really was the man behind this unknown Undertaking, though, they had even bigger problems. As much as he wanted to know the truth about his father’s mission and how to end it, Oliver almost hoped they were wrong.

—-

Moira looked up as Kevin was shown into her sitting room for the second time in two days. It would be safe to talk in here for a while yet; Thea was upstairs in her room and would make plenty of noise should she choose to come downstairs, and Oliver was out for the evening.

Normally, she might have started off with the usual pleasantries, but time was of the essence. As soon as Raisa was out of earshot, she asked, “So, I assume you’ve given some thought to my plan?”

Kevin remained standing. “I have, but I’m afraid we have more pressing concerns, Moira.”

“What do you mean?”

“Malcolm asked me to see Ted Williams this evening. It appears he moved a large sum of money from his bank and was in the process of firing his home staff and arranging for a successor to his business. I believe this made Malcolm nervous.”

“He thought Ted was fleeing the country.” Even if Malcolm had ended his extortion scheme in favor of the Undertaking, he still liked to keep tabs on those on the list.

“Yes, and he was. But not from the law, even if a case was just opened up against him.” Kevin folded his hands together, she suspected in an effort to hide any fidgeting or shaking. “He and his lawyer went for a meeting with the prosecutor this morning, only it turned out the case being brought against him had less to do with his crimes and more to do with a certain list.”

Moira gasped. “No.”

“He told her everything, Moira. He gave her Malcolm’s name.”

The list. How had someone gotten a copy of the list? Robert’s had been destroyed with the Gambit, and she had tossed hers in the fire after Oliver had returned it to her.

“There’s more, I’m afraid. The prosecutor is a Dinah Laurel Lance.”

Her legs trembled, and she knew if she’d been standing they would have failed her.

“You know her.”

“Yes,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Moira, I can only assume there is one way she could have come by this information.”

Her head bowed. “Oliver.”

What had he done? Oh, her son. She’d tried to warn him, tried to get him to leave it alone. And Laurel, with her questions and worries the last few months. She should have been keeping a better eye on things. That innocent girl.

“It’s too dangerous to move against Malcolm now,” Kevin said, drawing her from her thoughts. “Ted Williams’ departure has made him suspicious, and I will have to tell him at least some of what I’ve found out.”

Moira stood. “Kevin, you can’t let him think Oliver’s involved in this.”

“Of course not. But if Miss Lance is allowed to keep digging, Malcolm will figure it out on his own. She must be silenced.”

“No.” She turned away from him. It was unthinkable. “We stick to the plan, Kevin. Malcolm has to be stopped.”

“Malcolm is too suspicious now. He’ll be taking every precaution, and even a hint of dissent will be enough for him to remove either of us. I have to report to him by tonight. I’m postponing as long as I can for Ted to get his son out of the country, but any longer will have Malcolm questioning both our loyalties.”

“If you report to him that Laurel knows, he’ll have to know Oliver is involved.”

“I won’t tell him the lawyer’s name yet. Malcolm should put me in charge of tracking that information down, and it will buy us time until he’s completed the Undertaking and gotten what he wants.”

The Undertaking. The closer it approached, the less far-fetched and impossible it seemed. All those people...

“It’s the only way. If she tells Oliver what she’s learned, assuming she hasn’t already, Malcolm will not be happy. You must do this, Moira, for your family.”

“She is family,” Moira insisted.

Kevin watched her, giving away little emotion. “I understand you are fond of her. But choices have to be made, Moira. If we allow her to go on, Malcolm will realize Oliver’s involvement. Then he’ll have them both killed.”

He was right, and she didn’t know what to do.

Everything she had done was to keep Thea, and then Oliver when he’d come back to them, safe. She was remaining silent about Walter’s kidnapping for their safety. Her own husband. As much as she didn’t want to see Laurel caught up in this — hadn’t the Lances lost enough already to Malcolm’s schemes? — she had gone this far to ensure her children’s survival. What would be the point of any of it if she gave up now?

“What do you suggest?”

“I have reached out to my contacts in the Triad. They are willing to provide a man for the job. We simply give them a new target.”

Moira’s eyes closed. She felt a chill, like a piece of ice was settling in her heart. “Oliver would never recover.”

“Perhaps. But he would be alive.” Kevin paused. “I need an answer.”

“Do it,” she snapped, then covered her face with one hand. “If you think it’s best.”

“This should all be over soon, Moira. We have to keep going, for our families.”

He touched her shoulder briefly, but Moira shrugged it off. Kevin left without another word, and she sank back down to the couch.

For one wild moment, she had thought she could see a way out of the Undertaking, out of Walter’s captivity, out of being under Malcolm’s thumb. Now she was more trapped than ever.

#lauriver #laurel x oliver #laurel lance #oliver queen #arrow #john diggle #thea queen #moira queen #green arrow #black canary #my writing

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ljc84 · 4 years

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Snapchatting It Up

I have a confession to make. I use Snapchat. A lot. Usually, I am on the app to skim through my friend’s posts and send them random photos. If I already contributed to our “streaks,” I move onto the next social media platform.

But this week, I discovered “Discover.”

The Discover page features a variety of original shows, licensed content from news accounts, material from outside publishers, and creative influencer content for users to explore. It is like Facebook’s newsfeed, minus the endless scrolling past distant family members’ obnoxious posts. Snapchat allows me to alter the newsfeed and decide which publications I would like to see. The page also features content from verified accounts and advertisers Snapchat believes I will find interesting. If a subscribe to a publisher, it will also appear on Discover.

Of Snapchat’s many Discover partners, I subscribed to NBC News, People, and ESPN’s SportsCenter. People, for example, has formatted their content to appear like a regular Snapchat story. After looking at an article’s headlines, the user can either swipe up to read or tap to skip onto the next one. NBC News and SportsCenter operate like a television program, featuring summary episodes of full-length news stories. I have access to today’s episode, as well as all other episodes uploaded in the past.

An obsession of mine has become Pittie Nation by the dodo. Pittie nations follow the stories of Pit bulls found in terrible living conditions, nursed backed to health, and finding happy homes. When it first appeared on my Discover page, I immediately went to it because I love Pit bulls. Their face, their smile, their personality are all so adorable. However, they are mistreated and incredibly judged for being a “dangerous” breed (#fakenews). Personally, whenever I see one in person I immediately melt into a puddle of emotions.

Snapchat has an advantage over Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. When it was created in 2011, millennials were among its first users. Around 78% of users are 18-24 years old. Of the millennial age group, 20.3% of users in the United States are female and 17.7% are male. Over the years, they have remained loyal to the platform, while Generation Z is moving onto other apps like TikTok.

Authentic content attracts our attention and pushes the Discover partners to improve. NBC News and SportsCenter are not the only advertisers on the platform. The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, The Economist, and National Geographic all have episodes and articles uploaded on Snapchat. The additional global advisers on Snapchat is predicted to generate over $2 billion in revenue in 2020 and 2021.

Snapchat is becoming not only a social media platform but also an informative news site. Do not get me wrong. I am in no way saying Snapchat is “news.”

However, it is refreshing having popular news sites directly under my friends’ stories. I can go back and forth between friends and politics and sports all I want. If there were most Pitbull content on Snapchat, I would have a “Pitbull-only” news feed from here on out.

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the-coven-of-equilibrium · 7 years

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A Place For My Head

Respects Be with the beautiful Souls Chester Bennington & Chris Cornell, two legends who shone brighter with love than the stars, May you be Eternal… My Love, Prayers and Strength go out to all grieving at this time.

This is for LP, Anyone who has had their lives touched by Chester and LP, The Kids that connected from Day 1 and their little brothers and sisters, this is for anyone living with mental illnesses. This is for anyone with the heart and patience to read this part of my story. Now, to clarify, I’m not here to give you a play by play on Chester Bennington’s life, career or mental health etc, you can research that on google. This post is about the perspective of a loving fan, the influence on my life and how I know he touched the lives of so many others of our generations. For when you look past the statements from us i.e. “He helped me through so many dark times” and “they made my teen years bearable” this is what we mean and this is my connection to one of the most inspirational artists of my and younger generations time, someone who has done a whole lot of healing us. Let this not be undone in his death, for then darkness will truly prevail.

Warning: Before you continue reading, if you are feeling vulnerable and easily triggered, for a start, make sure you reach out, I know it’s hard but sometimes you have to, because people are unaware, secondly let them know having company can sometimes be enough as I find people feel nervous as they are unsure how to help- personally, simply being there can help sometimes, even if it doesn’t seem it. If that doesn’t work for centring yourself and you know what does then do it. If reading this triggers you, take care of your mental health and stop reading, do the best you can and notify someone then find something proactive, physical and connecting to do; walk to a park and sit on a swing for a bit, check out some nature etc, do your hobbies, push through okay? <3 If this makes you feel you want to share your story Please, do not hesitate to write me!

I’ve lived with suicidal demons for as long as I can recall, for me, it comes in waves or sometimes a reaction to stress and other triggers I will not go into. I’ve learned over many years this is irrational but this does not ever change involuntary thoughts of my death, this is often too hard for me to express because well, who wants to burden someone with that kind of heavy info right? Plus people seem to panic, people mean well but the reality for me is that I have to know who I can share this with and I’ve learned “my reach out network”- that’s what I call it. I have steps I take when I see my signs and I do my best to push through and it’s not the elixir of life but it can help a whole lot from a serious dark hole to a being in a weird mood for a little bit.

My Name is Denise, I am 28, I am a Mother of 2, A singer in a band and a mind that never switches off.

I live in Sydney, Australia J

It was a brisk Friday morning, the usual morning school rush to get the kids in, I skim over my socials, Mama tagged me in a post, I opened it and saw Chester’s face, though I did not read the headline. I jet out the door with the munchkins to rush home for my online orientation at 9am for this new Bachelors Degree I just started, since I’ve finally gotten my headspace back together again, after a traumatic couple of years and getting my life back on track with my path. Racing back home with excitement about my course and thinking through my busy day and thereafter, building up my plans in my head. I arrive home, quickly flick on the computer monitor, put away my belongings, got myself comfortable at my computer space open my orientation and as it loads check my notifications on FB to read the words “Linkin Park Lead Singer Chester Bennington dies at 41, Suspected Suicide”-… A moment of hesitation before this registered, immediately I think “this is a hoax”, but my heart knew it wasn’t, It was on what would have been the late beautiful Chris Cornell’s birthday I thought, this was no accident… not knowing how close they had been. I felt like a piece of me died at that moment. A disorientating wave of emotions rolled over my whole body as tears began flooding. Just as hard, all the memories I connect to linkin park began to flow in from day 1 when I was an 11yr old self to this day, “the soul that resonated through myself and a generation alike, inspiring and humble with an energy I have yet to see matched, the words that held my spirit through my darkest places, the guy who set the bar in my mind on performance delivery of my 14 year old self…” My skin was crawling, I couldn’t stop crying and I still didn’t want to believe it, to be quiet blunt I wanted to die myself. My mind had begun spiralling and I could feel the dark swirling in me, beginning to take over my mind loosing focus of my day of what was in front of me, my hands began to shake and tingle and I didn’t know what to do with them-I thought to myself: “I’ve never felt this way, ever, when someone famous has died.” I knew what my pain was asking me to do but I was there enough to come back, I looked at my keyboard, sobbing, I click open a tab and decided to just write:- which transpired to be this blog. My first post.

As I type Incoherent spurts and whirls of anguish, I tried to avoid the media like the plague, though I checked some of my favourite artists out to see who was feeling the loss. The Plea from the Rock Community taking such losses is so evident its not being taken lightly by artists who also live with these demons, They want it to be clear to the fans that this isn’t the answer and to the fact we basically need to wake up to the real depression around us and all the complacency going on all around us. I’m right there with them, It is the very truth we need to recognise; this shouldn’t have happened, but it did and we need to do something about it, as a community to make this world more aware and equipped. And why was he alone???Almost intrusive, the pain starts to sink in further…” How could you just leave like that?” I’m mad! I mean, as a mother… dude, He left 6 children, friends, family and a huge vulnerable fan basis behind…but he doesn’t deserve to be crucified in death for being weak in a moment of misjudgement… I’m angry… though not enough that I will allow it to over shadow the suffering of this beautiful man or the legacy that remains in Linkin Park. It broke my heart to know he was alone, for all the times his words, voice and energy stopped me from self-harming through my teens and all my life, all those times I was at the brink with no self-esteem… If you find you are there, DO NOT BE ALONE.

; Because of LP and bands alike,we found a safe place for our battered, confused and angry souls. For me, it was enough to stop me from acting on the intrusive thoughts, and still is.

Stumbling across a review of the new album, I realised, I hadn’t made the time yet to check out the new Album, the wave came crashing down inside me like a tsunami after the quake; I felt so guilty, I claimed loyalty and I heard the single, yet I was so caught up in other music this year, I had overlooked my boys album release, how could I? I felt I had betrayed Chester in a way. That I failed how I would usually pledged my loyalty. Further, to go open The Track List for “One More Light” … Tears and sobs were all I could muster, One Glance at the track list I felt like I was reading a hopeless indirect goodbye from my hero, my weirdo friend who held my soul when no one was listening, who is now gone. The 2017 release of “One More light”…. With endless scolding reviews that Linkin Park no longer embodied the teen angst it did when I was a teenager, Crucified for apparently-“simple” lyrics and ”soft singing” and “a lack of connection”- are you kidding me?Maybe as i am someone who has lived with a mental illness, it was easy for me (and i am sure many others) to depict the tone of the album is a point, a point of extreme turmoil, the point of healing and change and pressure…( A familiar feeling I have endeavored through many a time and currently trailing out of the most recent spiral). The album is full of silent screams of his state of mind, he was so sad, letting it out. Really, the music and artist features were progressive, Chester was always honest about wanting to explore into more pop music as well, he told us this like 10 years ago… so they tried something new, in the truest Linkin Park form. Honing in on the generations wave without a stylistic intention at that, how can one deny they would be able to resonate with our youth today, the level of depression going on in youth today breaks my heart, most of us deal with remnants of complex generational trauma we didn’t ask for but try our damn best to deal with… Heavy Really is a good example, They teamed up with an awesome artist who was all up and coming with the youth, they were with the times, always, so why be so critical because they weren’t afraid to grow. It’s a fucking sad and beautiful album at the same time… my resonation with this album is insane as always, I wasn’t afraid to see them change… do you know what it feels like when you’ve been crying so much and you need a fresh break that touches your soul…

So let’s time hop for a few paragraphs shall we? As an impressionable preteen, I looked to my cousin (who is 3 years older than me) who showed me some of what heavily influenced my music taste and style to this day. Having been brought up around an immensely eclectic variety of music and free spirited people, it was without a doubt I was curious to hear everything everyone listened to or had to offer. I mean, it was and still is my thing, since I could possibly remember or imagine, nothing on this earth is parallel to my passion for music, people and writing poetry, nor has it been easy for me to share with my peers with surmountable anxieties around expectations from myself of myself, vicious cycle.

By gosh did I fall head over heels for Linkin Park from the first listen, I would have been about 11yrs old, at the time I already liked some pretty obscure music, which we can also leave for another time. One step closer; the first track I remember hearing of Linkin Park, my eyes beaming with this hype of energy building in my core and as it moves into “SHUT UP WHEN I’M TALKING TO YOU!!!” and the music just taking me over the bounce back between Mike and Chester and I remember smiling and this feeling of release.. straight away and every time since. Every track touched my heart.

My first memories when learning of Chesters suicide were of when I was 14 and my cousin bought me LPs “Live in texas” DVD & CD for Christmas, I played that DVD on repeat all summer and I was absolutely blown away by the whole band but as a singer I looked up to Chester, the way he commanded the stage with his multifaceted energy. The ability to be so raw, yet still so nurturing to their audience. I vividly remember “A Place For My Head” impacted me and stays with me the most, it became the level of expectation from artists from that point, Safe to say he blew me away and I hadn’t even seen them live!

Then the opportunity came in October of 2007 Minutes to Midnight Tour where I saw them live for the first time, and Chester was sick, he couldn’t scream and couldn’t give it his all, I remember feeling disheartened and felt bad for Chester, he didn’t have the best health. I was grateful they still played and I still enjoyed the show since it was so incredible and the band was so awesome and the visuals that show - wow. I never turn my back on artists on 1 sore performance though, so there was no hesitation when the next show came in December 11th 2010 A Thousand Suns World Tour.- I have to say I know any deep Linkin Park Fans will be mourning as deeply as I am, I know because I’ve felt it, discussed it and hear the respect and love we hold as fans for LP amongst my peers over the years! At School, random public awkward social situations and someone was repping an LP shirt and you felt safe to strike up a conversation, at parties they were the bonding point for so many of my scary situations,clubs, conerts,pubs,parks, Town Hall :P Just everything was that much more because of LP. In 2013 for Soundwave and Sidewaves They soared, Opening with faint a resonating crowd, singing to all the tracks, the heavy Linkin Park fans came out of the woodworks for tracks from Hybrid Theory and Meteora screaming and roaring along the lyrics while I’m being squished and people surging, with circle pits whirling next to me, as I’m centre stage 4 rows back, in my regular fashion, I found my kindred, losing our shit to every line, as well as our voices. Hanging onto every moment and following Chester back and forth across as hr owns the stage while the ever beautiful Mike Shinoda cradles Chester and the crowd with the rhymes that resonate through time and us in that moment, the energy, respect and love so true moving through the entire venue. My Mama has seen some amazing shows in her time (My Music Guru) and she was blown away that the crowd response, still so strong and energetic for Linkin Park she said “Your crowd was so beautiful, You can see how much they love LP they sang every line of every song old and new and so respectful” I gleamed a cheshire grin of pride at my mama..

I could go through the entire track list and tell you how they correlate to my life and why, how each line, lick, scratch and scream resonates through my physical and spiritual being, to some they may have been just “an emo band” or “nu metal” but to me- Today My Hero Died and took a part of me with him more than I can still make sense of but I will instead explain something else. When I was 11 the worst time of my life began, things irreplaceable, things beyond my comprehension, to many things beyond control. It was at this time where I was lucky and found Linkin Park, as the years moved on, still passionately connected to LP and trapped in a private hell I shared with non but in outbursts of rage where my family would correlate Meteora to my mind frame, which is close but at the time I didn’t fully comprehend what I was hearing and why I felt so connected to Chester, I would later discover many obvious reasons why. I remember when Meteora Dropped, Oh man, My family remember when Meteora Dropped… everyone in my house ended up becoming a Linkin Park Fan after that… To me… What Linkin Park did for me sometimes as a teen who was dealing with a surmountable level of complex issues in her life (like most teens)… Linkin Park made things easier to face the world most days… a place for my head- exactly that- the anguish I felt was inadvertently at this peak of emotional drowning and I can easily tell you a better part of my youth had been Listening to LP alone or peers alike. Fast forward to 2017 and I am 28, only now have I woken up and begun to heal, only now just a mere 3 weeks ago did I begin my therapy to unravel the pain… To lose my hero… To affiliate on a confusing level and digress at the actions he chose. Today… I sat in a taxi Blaring Linkin Park on my phone Balling my Eyes out and it was in waves over and over, At first i could bring myself to listen to a song, I opened the gate with “My December”… One More light…The song I would come to see significantly, every song broke my heart all over again.

Learning more about Chester I discovered he was a fellow March Equinox baby, like me! J What some of the things he had faced were and how strong he was, how honest and kind he was. In all this, Chester was amazing, he was forgiving, loving and a beautiful person. He explored, experienced and conquered more than we can imagine, he sang with and is respected by timeless artists and became one himself. There is a void in my world knowing he is not on the planet anymore but I take solace in the beauty he left behind, even in death, a sad beauty of an unbearable loss amidst a riptide.

Chester, So much more than just a singer, the inspirer, the honest humble soul, someone who has saved and touched millions of lives that span across entire generations. Reflecting with friends about Chester’s passing, people seem to feel stumped at the irony of the amount of people he helped in the world with sharing his pain with us.. the thing is as artists, this is our soul on show… a pain can be shared but not cured by this mere act, but to express the depth in which this turmoil revels. The Shadow is always there…

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_v1SLIt01Q0)

Imagine; You meet your hero, your idol growing up, you guys totally hit it off at a gig one time and become super close, so close you are gifted being godparent to their child. You abruptly loose this friend while on tour for an album which exploits depths of your mental illness which was misunderstood because it did not embody the angry teenager anymore but the healing of confronting your mind and the rage beneath the surface of the ocean… as an outsider if this is what I see, I couldn’t imagine how hard it was for Chester, He Lost His New Harmony in loosing Chris…

One More Light… The Last Linkin Park Album with My Hero I will discover, and its more real then i could have ever imagined, I can’t stop playing every song from the album, and i never will.

Such a fucking amazing band LINKIN PARK, such gifted beautiful unforgettable individuals, such resonating souls of one band who changed and touched the lives of millions all over the planet, who are timeless, I’m sorry for your loss, I’m so sorry and I love you all, every element of LINKINPARK is a masterpiece of contrast and raw beauty.

To my dear fellow LP and Chester Fans, Please do not despair, we know rationally what is right, so don’t give in and lose hope, we need to suck it up and keep in touch. Don’t hide, let it out and make this world a more beautiful place for each other. Put those tracks on that touch your heart and never forget what we lost in Chester but never forget what he was a part of building, still remains. The side projects he was a part of, the opportunities he explored for growth like being the front man for Stone Temple Piolets! The amount of bands and artists who were inspired to start writing because of Linkin Park, The Love and Respect that he gained through being a true working musician and person who overcame so much in living world and taught us how to heal when nobody was listening. Fuck the Media and their negative breeding avoid buying into peoples crap and remember what you value, remember how YOU connect, who you love and stay close to them, remember the thigs that shift our focus to a productive healthy place of love.

The answer is not out, it is in, be unafraid to be real, keep it raw. Peace.

Chester, you will forever inspire my art as you already did, I will forever be motivated to heal. I love you for everything, thank you

-D'Amor Feroz

#linkin park #mike shinoda #chester bennington #fanlove #mentalhealth

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rebeccahpedersen · 7 years

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Canada’s Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS)

TorontoRealtyBlog

A few weeks ago, there was a feature article in one of the national newspapers on Mortgage Backed Securities in the Canadian marketplace.

I must have had at least 4-5 clients email me this article, and the same number of blog readers asked me to comment on it.

Everybody heard “mortgage-backed securities,” and immediately conjured up images of Brad Pitt and company in The Big Short, and figured this was serious news.

But guess what? MBS’ have been around in Canada for a long, long time…

How does that saying go?

“I know a little, about a lot.”

Or is it, “I know a lot, about a little.”

Well I’m not sure what category I fit into. Sometimes I think it’s both.

But when it comes to blogging, and discussing complex topics that often have a loose association with real estate, but that I want to explore anyways, I’m usually up for the task.

When it comes to Mortgage Backed Securities, however, I can’t in good consicence speak to you guys about what’s going on in the industry, where we were, where we’re headed, and most importantly – the differences between Canada’s MBS’, and those that are associated with the financial crisis in the United States in 2008.

So I’ve called upon my trusted mortgage broker for his thoughts. Although thankfully, it’s not just thoughts, but rather an entire blog post.

Thanks to Ben Sammut from Mortgage Architects for providing the following…

Mortgage Backed Securities: Be Very, Very Afraid…….In A Way

Mortgage Backed Securities! Deposit withdrawals! Sub-prime mortgages!

Are you scared yet? Well you should be. It’s frightening that the majority of people do not know enough about these terms to know what they actually are or that they play a crucial role in a working economy.

BMO recently announced that they would be packaging their non-insured mortgages and selling bonds to the public, backed by these mortgages. The mechanics behind this are very simple:

-A borrower with less than 20% down takes out an insurance policy on their loan. If they ever default, the insurer (CMHC) pays the bank. This poses zero risk to the bank.

-If the borrower has 20% or more down (or is refinancing their property), they are not required to take out insurance and the bank instead assumes this risk. This is typically justified by charging the client a slightly higher interest rate.

-BMO has decided to double dip by charging slightly higher rates AND selling the risk to the public in the form of mortgage backed securities.

-Mortgage Backed Securities are bonds sold to the public that are backed by a large fund of combined mortgages. Essentially, if the fund does well, the bond holders do well. If they fund does poorly (i.e. massive defaults), the bond holders do poorly.

Now it’s worth noting that BMO’s mortgages, and the majority of mortgages in Canada for that matter, are fairly safe.

We have 6 major banks in Canada that fund a multitude of different mortgage lenders. But the entire show is run and regulated by our Ministry of Finance as well as it’s guard dog CMHC (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation).

Yes, it is easy to obtain a mortgage today given low rates and real estate markets across the country increasing in value. But the scrutiny through which Canadian lenders have doled out money is quite high; we have some of the lowest fraud and default rates in the developed world.

To play devil’s advocate, taking on the risk for the banks is obviously…risky. It’s in the name! But let’s compare numbers.

There are three components that differentiate the US housing market pre-2007 and our current housing market with respect to mortgage backed securities:

1) The size of MBS funds being traded. 2) The number of players in the game. 3) The way in which mortgages are underwritten/registered.

1) The Size of MBS Funds Being Traded

At the height of the US housing boom in 2007/08, Lehman Brother’s had amassed over $85 billion in mortgage funds from which they sold their mortgage backed securities. This was an accumulation of their own lenders’ money as well as sub-prime loans purchased on the open market.

We’ll speak more about purchasing loans in a moment.

But in the meantime, the $85 billion was sold to pension funds, retirees, mutual funds, etc., and played a very large role in the overall investing economy of the US. For scale, BMO has announced that they are packaging less than $2 billion of their mostly AAA loans.

Up until 2007/08, mortgage lending and home buying were rampant and loosely regulated. The US has hundreds of banks, trust companies, and credit unions all regulated by their own shareholders and local/state regulators – whereas Canada has six.

2) The Number Of Players In The Game

Let that sink in. We have six banks in Canada that own and administer the majority of uninsured mortgages.

This obviously allows for more oversight, regulation, and government intervention. It also allows for more efficient systems as well as greater investment in security and fraud-prevention.

It’s a lot more difficult to sell a skunk loan 6 times and repackage said loan again and again until it eventually looks clean.

And speaking of repackaging loans…

3) The Way In Which Mortgages Are Underwritten

Mortgages in the US are a completely different animal than in Canada. On the northern side of the border, we originate a mortgage for a specific term (usually 1-5 years) and upon renewal of said term, both bank and borrower can part ways or renegotiate the terms of their mutual mortgage. The repayment can take upwards of 30 years, but this time is broken up into terms.

In the US, however, a typical mortgage loan is originate as a 30 year term and traded among lenders.

For example, you may take out a 30 year loan from Sun Trust this year. By next fall, your mortgage could be sold to Quicken Loans, Wells Fargo, or Chase Bank. But more realistically, it could be sold to the Oklahoma Teacher’s Pension, the Denver Steel Workers’ Union, or the New York Jewish College Fund.

In fact, throughout your 30 year mortgage, you could be sold to 6, 7, or 10 different creditors. There is a degree of transparency in this but you can easily see how each seller passes the risk on to the next again and again to remove themselves from any exposure.

When we begin to package these loans again and again, and sell them into other funds, the confusion (and inability to oversee) is magnified. So imagine the chaos when $85 billion was combined and sold from literally hundreds upon hundreds of independent sources…

Frankly, the move from BMO was an inevitability after Justin Trudeau’s government took away their ability to bulk insure their loans back in October/November.

Is it bad for rates? A little.

Is it bad for the bank? Not at all.

Is it bad for the borrowers? Not really, it’s actually business as usual.

Is it bad for Canada’s economy? Not in the slightest.

If you want to read more on this, there was a great article published in May of 2016 by InternationalInvestment.net, entitled: “Mortgage Backed Securities: Time To Let Them Off The Naughty Step?” It’s worth a read for sure.

Bottom line: I personally believe that when the first article about MBS’ popped up in a Canadian newspaper a month ago, it was the first time it garnered a lot of attention. Those that don’t know about MBS’ (which is most people), immediately thought this was something new, and something that perhaps was delivered to the Canadian economy a decade after the United States had their financial debacle.

Now, add a slew of articles and attention to the Home Trust crisis a couple of weeks later, and now a lot of people wanted to connect the two, along with the red-hot Canadian real estate market.

The market is red hot, mortgage backed securities are being sold in Canada, and financial institutions are going under.

Put those three things together, and you’ve got the foundation for a spectacular financial crisis.

Only the MBS’ aren’t anything new. And now Home Trust is doing business.

So while I’m not blaming the media for this one (which is rare, on my part), I think a lot of people who read headlines, but don’t delve deeper, were looking to make connections, and as a result, conclusions, that weren’t there.

I welcome your thoughts on the MBS market here in Canada. And specifically for those in the know, how our MBS’ differ from that of the United States in 2008.

And for those of you who didn’t read any of the above, and were just skimming for something of interest, here’s Selena Gomez explaining a CDO:

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